


Redoing the Thing

by dahliafred



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: F/M, Honeymoon, zhurrick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-05
Updated: 2020-09-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:36:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26307193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dahliafred/pseuds/dahliafred
Summary: A series of vignettes from Varrick and Zhu Li’s honeymoon. You can read this fic - you may even enjoy this fic - without first readingDoing the Thing. But it is a definite part of the timeline of that story, and therefore, new readers will be perplexed by 90% of the places and events referenced within.
Relationships: Varrick/Zhu Li Moon
Comments: 4
Kudos: 53





	Redoing the Thing

She’d witnessed the completely insane amount of work he’d put into the wedding. However, it held a pale candle to the honeymoon. 

A couple weeks earlier, Zhu Li had sat in the saloon of the ship, wearing a captain’s hat he’d placed on her head at a jaunty angle, staring at a tall, rectangular board covered with a purple cloth. She raised an eyebrow as Varrick pulled the cloth away with a flourish. Beneath was a giant map of the world, covered in colorful pins. “Should I be taking notes, dear?” she asked.

He made a face and waved his hand. “Put that notebook away. _I’m_ the cruise planner here.”

Biting back a smile, she crossed her legs and folded her hands over her knees.

“Right. So, even though I’m in charge of the planning, it _is_ your honeymoon too and I thought you should have a say in some of the decision making.”

“That’s very sweet of you, dear.”

 _“This,”_ he stressed, “is a map of everywhere we _should_ have done the thing that we didn’t do the thing.”

Zhu Li’s eyebrows disappeared into her bangs. “You mean…”

“Yes, _exactly_. Glad we’re on the same page here.” He clasped his hands behind his back. “So, we’ve got a full month…”

Zhu Li let out a laugh.

“What?!” he asked, head snapping up.

“We are _not_ taking a month. We can’t,” she said, frowning. “Republic City is in ruins - we need to start rebuilding as soon as possible.”

“Sure,” he said, “but there’s no reason we can’t hire a bunch of workers to do it for us, disappear for a while.”

 _“Varrick,”_ she said, sweetly admonishing him as she cocked her head. She’d found that worked wonders.

He crossed his arms. “Fine, out with it - what were you thinking?”

“A week. Tops.”

“Zhu Li!” He strode forward and put both his hands on the arms of her chair. _“That is not nearly enough time."_ Somehow, he was able to stress every word in any given sentence, each in a different way. It drove her wild. “You only get _one_ honeymoon and I intend to enjoy ours.” He straightened up, glaring at her. “A week would barely get us out on the water and back!”

“So it _is_ a cruise then,” she replied.

“Tuh, obviously. I mean, I already have the boat and it just makes sense to…” He caught her smiling and narrowed his eyes. “Three weeks. You owe me three weeks for that.”

“Two,” she said.

He sighed dramatically. “Fine. I’ll take it.” He turned back to the map and put his chin in his hand. “Though, wow. That makes some of the logistics tricky.” He turned back to her. “Okay. Let’s prioritize. Which places can we wait on?” 

She stood up and walked over next to him. As they examined the map together, she slid her hand into his. He squeezed it. 

“I mean - I would like to visit my mother sometime soon,” she said, then made a little face. “But maybe not on our honeymoon.” 

“Okay, check. Let’s build Mrs. Moon a well-insulated guest wing first.”

She looked at the pins nearby. “You know, Taku was nice.”

Varrick grimaced. “I hear they’ve turned it into another Cave of the Two Lovers. You have to buy tickets and everything.”

“That’s disappointing,” she replied. “Okay, so Taku is out.”

“Unless we buy it back,” he suggested. 

“Mmm… I feel there are probably more important things for us to spend our money on at present.”

Varrick looked a little sheepish. Zhu Li worried. What ridiculous things had he splurged on for this wedding or honeymoon that she _didn’t_ know about?

“I mean, if you’re looking for a cheap night out, we could always get arrested again,” he offered, mustache twitching. “Spend some time in the old jail cell.”

“Let’s table that for the time being. We can stay at the Republic City Four Elements at any time, so you can take that one off the list. And why is Cinder Sands on here? We slept on the boat the entire time we were there.”

“Technically,” he said, raising a finger, “it was the _old_ boat.”

“I’m not sure we should make a distinction.”

“Fine,” he muttered. “You know, Cinder Sands would make a good future vacation spot on its own. It’s a little out of the way compared to the rest of our adventures. Let’s save it for an anniversary.”

She smiled at him, which led to an extended make-out session…

Varrick broke away suddenly. “Zhu Li, I _know_ what you’re doing.”

“Do you?” she asked.

“You’re distracting me from my husbandly duties of planning this once-in-a-lifetime, incredibly special trip!” He lightly pushed her away. She went and sat back down, mouth twisted to one side. 

“What’re your feelings on trains?” he asked, one eyebrow cocked. 

She leaned forward. “Varrick, we are not stopping by every tiny little Earth Kingdom town we’ve visited. One night is enough to get the entire train experience.”

He narrowed his eyes. “That seems incredibly unfair… I can think of ten places, off the top of my head, where we _really_ should have done it.”

“You get two, total,” she said, crossing her arms. “I’ll choose one more.”

“Zhu Liii…” he said, then huffed. “Okay. What’s your choice?”

Her eyes sparkled a bit. “Gaoling.”

She was expecting him to protest, but he nodded along thoughtfully. “That one was on my list too.”

“Really? I thought you hated Gaoling.”

“Well, I did, right up to the day you baked me cookies and let me sleep in your lap and played with my hair because you felt bad about my childhood,” he replied, hands on his hips. “After that, I have a _much_ more favorable view of the place!” 

Now she felt a bit bad for limiting him to two choices. “What about you?” she asked.

He tapped his chin thoughtfully. “Well, one would be in the northern mountains - we’d need to source a mechatank and a few angry earthbenders for the reenactment.” She bit her lip. “And one would be that night at Omashu Junction. Remember? When you got drunk and I had to take care of _you_ for once. Did a pretty darn good job of it too.” He looked inordinately proud of himself for that. “Only this time, we’d split the number of drinks you had and take care of _each other_ , if you know what I mean.” 

She loved him so much.

He shook his head. “But the train should probably wait until later. Alright.” He examined the board critically. “I can see I have my work cut out for me.”

**ITINERARY: DAY ONE**

They’d spent the first night on the boat, moored off Air Temple Island. (“This does not count as our honeymoon! Yet!” he’d proclaimed.) In the morning, they headed south, toward their first port of call. It only took them a couple of hours to reach it. 

“Makapu?” she’d asked, delighted.

Xue and Shimu met them at the dock in her shiny silver Sato. The pair of scientists grinned back at them. “Hop on in, you crazy kids,” Xue said. Varrick held Zhu Li’s hand as she climbed into the backseat of the convertible, then vaulted over the side himself. As they wound up the road toward the observatory, Varrick reached down and pulled her feet into his lap. He unbuckled her shoes as Shimu swiveled around in his seat. “We wanted to express our thanks for the generous donation you -”

“Bbppft!” Varrick said, making a zipping motion across his mouth. 

“Right. Sorry.” Shimu turned around in his seat as Varrick slid off Zhu Li’s shoes and started in on an incredible foot rub that lasted the entire car ride. 

“Sooo…” Shimu said when they arrived at the observatory. “You’ve got the entire place to yourselves, as requested.”

“Excellent,” Varrick said. 

“We’ll be here around eight to drive you down to the Shirshu Shack. Just listen for the honk.”

“Got it,” Varrick replied, helping Zhu Li out of the car. He carried both their bags this time. 

They stepped into the observatory. “Now what?” she asked. He dropped the bags and kissed her passionately on the threshold before pulling back and wiggling a single eyebrow. 

They raced back to the room they’d stayed in, the metal frames of the single beds screeching in protest as they shoved them together.

**ITINERARY: NIGHT TWO**

Baowan had really been cleaned up since the train had come through. The neighborhood around the hotel by the docks was completely unrecognizable. Zhu Li couldn’t stop looking around and admiring how the awful pile had been transformed into a charming little boutique inn, with very reasonable rates.

“Did _you_ do this?” she asked, narrowing her eyes. 

He didn’t answer, but rang the bell on the desk. 

The same old man as the last time popped up from his nap. When he grinned, the spots that used to be gaps now glinted gold.

“We’ve reserved your honeymoon suite,” Varrick said.

“What good luck sir - we’ve just finished our renovations! Added an ensuite and everything!” 

Once they were in their (cleaned, expanded, and refurbished) room at the top of the hotel, Varrick dragged her over to the bed and sat. He dangled both arms at his sides and gripped the iron bed frame tightly. 

“Dear, what are you -?” Zhu Li looked down, confused. 

“Could I ask you for something?” he requested, gazing up at her so wide-eyed and openly. 

“Of course.” 

“A shave?” 

Her eyebrows knitted together. It was an odd request at the moment, but she had honestly missed doing that. “Okay...” 

She got out his shaving kit and lathered him up. “Wow,” she remarked, “You can actually see with the new lights - imagine that.”

He released his fingers from the edge of the bed and gently placed his hands just below her hips. Her breath hitched and she froze at the unexpected touch. She set down the razor. 

“Zhu Li, I love you, and I should have told you that the very first time the words popped into my head.” He leaned his forehead against her body. “We were here, just like this, and I thought I was going to get on that boat and never see you again.” She could feel tears dampening her blouse. 

She combed her hands through his hair. “Thank goodness for pirates,” she murmured. 

“Thank goodness for pirates,” he repeated, laughing slightly. He leaned back and dragged her on top of him. 

“Varrick, shouldn’t I finish…” she started. 

He kissed her, smudging her chin with his shaving cream. It tingled, leaving a cool trail as he continued down her neck. He rolled them over, so that she was on her back, lying horizontally across the bed. He got down on his knees on the floor and placed his hands on the outside of her thighs again, this time sliding them up the inside of her skirt, hitching it up...

_Oh._

“I’ll finish in the morning,” he muttered, lowering his mouth to the inside of her knee. 

**ITINERARY: DAY THREE**

As Zhu Li had feared when the train had cut through, Senlin had changed, and not for the better.

“Well, that was disappointing,” he shouted over the buzz of the propeller. 

They landed the rocket-equipped plane back by the coast. “Plan two,” he said, handing her a knapsack.

It didn’t take long to reach the bear in the clearing. While he attempted to pitch the tent, she got down on her knees and examined the saw marks at the statue’s base. Running her fingers over them, she could feel the grooves had already started to smooth, blending in with the rest of the ancient figure. 

Zhu Li smiled, then went to go help her husband with the tent. 

“Tick check?” she asked him, once it was set up.

“You can never be too careful,” he replied, nodding sagely. 

**ITINERARY: NIGHT FOUR**

Zhu Li lay on her back on the couch, fingers intertwined with Varrick’s, lazily making out with him. As he nuzzled her right ear, she opened her eyes and caught sight of a toy train set on the floor.

“Zhu Li?” he murmured. 

“Mmm?”

“You okay there? Because you went all still and funny all of a sudden.”

She turned to face him and crinkled her nose. “This is just a little _too_ weird, isn’t it?”

He propped himself up on his elbows. “Oh, thank goodness you said it,” he exhaled.

“Should we go check into the Four Elements?” she asked. 

“By all means - yes.” He paused. “Let’s just make sure Chang doesn’t spot us. I agreed to renovate the whole place in exchange for a full twenty-four hours.” 

**ITINERARY: NIGHT FIVE**

“No, no, _never_ , no. **_Get out_**.”

The desk clerk at the Golden Dunes Casino and Spa angrily gestured to the wall of photos behind him. Their faces peered back at them in black and white, Zhu Li looking startled and pale and Varrick attempting a coy wink but just looking all the more inebriated for it.

“Check your reservation book,” Varrick said, leaning one elbow on the counter. 

The clerk did so and frowned. “Your name is Tao Blackstone.”

“That is correct, good sir.”

The desk clerk gave a long-suffering sigh and handed him a key.

“C’mon, Topaz,” Varrick said with a wink. “We have our run of the place - I booked every single room for three nights on either end.”

“No cactus juice?” she said, giving him a sharp look.

“ _No_ cactus juice,” he promised. 

**ITINERARY: NIGHT SIX**

“Hi, Su! Want a new plane?” He snatched the keys of the Zaofu guest house from her hand as the two of them walked past, breaking their kiss just long enough for him to get out those six words.

“Well- bu- _Varrick_.” Su finally settled on a word, hands on her hips. 

“I hope so, cause I’m leaving that one there.”

“You told me this was a _family_ visit.”

“It is, meet my new family.” He gestured to Zhu Li, who waved, lips attached to his once more. “Well, it’s been a _blast_ chatting, see you at breakfast tomorrow.”

The second they were inside and he’d closed the door, Zhu Li hopped up and wrapped her legs around him, kissing him deeply. 

He broke away for a moment, cracked the door open again, and hollered out, _“Maybe.”_

The door slammed shut behind him once more.

“Your room, the couch, my room - in that order,” Zhu Li breathed against his mouth. 

**ITINERARY: DAY SEVEN**

The stateroom bathroom was full of fog following the long, hot shower they’d just finished. 

Varrick came up behind her as she was toweling her hair. He put his hands on her hips and muttered in her ear, “Sweetheart, would you care for another _rocket boat ride_?”

She smiled at him in the mirror. “Very funny, dear.”

“On your trip to the _South Pole_?” he growled against her neck.

She shook her head at his horrible puns, grabbing her comb.

“Aboard my frankly _enormous_ yacht?”

She spun around in his arms. Keeping her chin tucked down she gazed up at him seriously. 

“Sir…”

“Yes?” His voice practically broke at the end of the syllable. 

She stepped a fraction of an inch closer. “I believe you could even ask me…”

“Yes?” His pupils actually dilated, right in front of her eyes. It was incredible. She stood on her tiptoes, just barely _not_ touching him. 

“...to do the thing,” she whispered in his ear. 

He shuddered against her in delight.

**ITINERARY: NIGHT EIGHT**

Zhu Li sat on the desk in the office of the South Pole home, her arms crossed.

“In the house, yes, obviously. Pick a room. Pick _every_ room. But that? I’m sorry, Varrick, but that’s where I draw the line.”

“Zhu Li, I’m trying to be a completeist here! And technically, we did _sleep_ , together, inside…”

**_“No.”_ **

“Pfft. Fine. Stuffed animal room, then, let’s go.”

**ITINERARY: DAY NINE**

“No peeking.”

“I’m not going to peek,” she said, for the third time in as many hours. Her face was frozen, but he’d turned off the snowmobile’s motor. Hopefully they were close.

“Seriously, don’t look.”

_“Varrick.”_

He guided her off the snowmobile. Snow crunched beneath her boots. His arm was so warm across the small of her back.

“Okay - you can take the blindfold off now.”

She did, gladly, then reached into her pocket for her glasses. Setting them on her nose, she blinked a few times.

An ice palace rose before her, silhouetted by the blue glow of the Southern Spirit Portal.

 _“Varrick,"_ she said again, but this time it came out completely differently. 

He leaned down and kissed her. A snowflake caught in her eyelashes and it melted under his lips. 

“Are you going to do my hair again?” she asked with a sultry smile.

He drew her to his chest and his voice rumbled against her. “If you ask nicely.” 

**ITINERARY: NIGHT TEN**

She gasped as he crawled up their stateroom bed wearing a pair of tight, blue, fur-lined shorts, “Oh, Nuktuk - here to rescue me at last?”

“Yes, Ginger it is I, Nuktuk, here to save you from the evil…” He sat back. “Nope, nope, can’t do it.”

Zhu Li screwed up her face. “Yeah, the whole “Ginger” thing _really_ isn’t working for me.”

“I should have thought of that at the time,” he groaned. He flopped onto her lower body, buried his face in her stomach, and snapped his fingers in the air. “What was the name in the script before that one?”

“Shiya, wasn’t it?” She ran a hand through his hair.

“Yeah, let’s go back to Shiya.”

“Works for me. And what about Taktuq?”

“What about Taktuq?” Varrick asked, eyes lighting up and voice lowering into a growl.

“Ohhh, Taktuq, here to rescue me at _last_.”

“Of course, Shiya. Only _I_ , Taktuq, can save you from the forces of darkness… _Is the camera light still blinking?_ ” he asked, lowering his voice between nips around the shell of her ear.

“Mmmhmm.”

**ITINERARY: NIGHT ELEVEN**

“Honey, I have a bad feeling about this,” Zhu Li said, as they crept through the swamp.

Varrick’s eyes were glued to the compass. “Have I led us astray so far?”

“No,” she had to admit. 

“Well, then…” He looked up and pointed at a door-shaped gap between two giant tree roots. “Our home for the night.”

Zhu Li entered the cozy burrow and examined the space. It was nicer than she’d expected. 

“Does… Toph live here?”

“Yeah, usually. But I convinced her to take a Varrick-sponsored spa weekend at the Omashu Four Elements with her old pal Katara. Massages, mud wraps, the works! Anyway, let’s get a fire started before it gets dark. Toph said the animals won’t mess with us if we leave it going all night.”

The swamp was strangely peaceful at night, despite all the noise. For once, they didn’t have to worry about being the loudest creatures around. Zhu Li curled up tightly against her husband’s side. “I love you so much, Iknik,” she sighed.

“You are literally the _only_ person who gets to use that name,” he said, sleepily kissing the top of her head. 

**ITINERARY: DAY TWELVE**

“I mean, to be honest, I didn’t plan for us to _sleep_ here. I just figured we were passing by and had access to better snail jars this time.”

She took him by his hand and led him deeper into the woods.

“Zhu Li, wha- ?”

She put her finger to her lips. “Listen.”

He stopped, frowning, then perked up when he heard it. “Is that a - ?”

Ten minutes later, they were standing by the base of the waterfall. “How did I not know this was here?” he asked in wonder. 

She smiled. “I honestly don’t know - it’s pretty loud.”

“Wow.” He gazed around the clearing, then his eyes fixed on her. “So are we getting in or what?”

Zhu Li pulled her shirt off over her head. He wasted no time in stripping down too. Laughing, she pushed him into the deep pool when he’d gotten his boxers halfway off. 

“Hey!” he said, popping back through the surface and spluttering. “Tired of me already?” 

She sat, dangling a foot in the pool. “Hardly.”

He grabbed her foot and tugged; she slid into his arms and they both paddled in place. “Funny, that’s about where I am too.”

She kissed him. “Careful with your words, darling. I’ve been imagining different versions of this for the past three years and practically none of them involved puns.”

“Three? Years?” he asked between kisses, eyes wide. 

**ITINERARY: NIGHT THIRTEEN**

A full moon shone over the Earth Kingdom’s West Lake, its surface serene. 

Tonight was sweet and slow. No place to be. Nothing special to do. 

Just the two of them, each having the other. 

**ITINERARY: DAY FOURTEEN**

Zhu Li was highly doubtful her husband was sticking to the two-week schedule.

“I promise we’ll be back in Republic City by tomorrow afternoon,” he insisted. “Trust me - I’ve planned everything _perfectly_.”

He really had. A crisp wind whispered by her ear as he led her to the deck, put her hands on the yacht’s railing. 

“Okay… you can look now.” She pulled down the blindfold. 

As Zhu Li put on her glasses and her eyes adjusted, she caught sight of a familiar waterfall, pouring down to the coast. Beyond the boardwalk that ran along the sandy shore, a colorful maple forest grew. 

“Su Oku Grove?” she murmured, positively melting. 

“Third time’s a charm.” His voice reverberated in her ear as he dropped his chin to her shoulder and wrapped his arms around her.

She closed her eyes again, savoring the contact. “You realize we’ve visited three out of the past four autumns?”

“We should make it a tradition.”

“I wouldn’t mind seeing it in other seasons either.”

“You wouldn’t know it,”he said quietly, “but there are at least as many cherry trees as maple. In the spring, the entire town turns pink. In summer, there’s a lady lightning bug festival, and in the winter, the falls freeze over and waterbenders come down from the North Pole to compete in an ice sculpture contest.”

She turned her face toward his. “I want to see them all.” 

Blue eyes gazed into hers. “Let’s build a vacation home here.” 

“Really?!”

“Why not? It’s less than a day away from Republic City, only hours if we update the rails.” 

“No - let’s keep the old train,” she said, sinking back in his embrace. “Sometimes, the long journeys are the best ones.” 

He slid his fingers through hers. “Does that mean we can extend this voyage, return home by the way of some Fire Nation beaches?”

She smiled. “No, dear.”

He kissed her temple. “It was worth a try.”

**Author's Note:**

> If you're reading this as part of the _Doing the Thing_ continuity, you can find the epilogue [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/2693552/chapters/64104067)!


End file.
